Snobs Blog: South Australia - Who said wine can't be fun

When we hear the words - South Australia, the first thing we think of is wine.

Years and years ago (too many for me to be comfortable remembering, actually) a judge on a TV talent show said to a contestant: “Before you can interpret a song, you have to know every single note and nuance. Once you know it perfectly, only then can you pull it apart and have some fun with it”. Or words to that effect.

The same apparently, is true for wine, or at least, winemaking.

When we hear the words - South Australia, the first thing we think of is wine. Wine, wine, wine. Some people think of churches, but I prefer the wine reference.

However, every state of Australia puts in the claim of having the best wine region and the competition’s hot. So, if it’s a case of the Barossa vs The Hunter or a knockout bout between The Yarra Valley and Margaret River, who’s going to win?

Vade ad victor spolia or, to the victor go the spoils.

Be bold, be brave but before that. Be good.

Enter Chester Osborn from d’Arenberg Wines in McLaren Vale – South Australia’s wine hotspot. He’s the bold, brave and good one from the world of wine. As the New Faces judge said, “only once you know every nuance can you begin to play around with it.”

The truck loads of awards that Chester’s d’Arenberg Wines have won provide undeniable evidence that Chester knows how to make wine, so, if anyone’s entitled to ‘play around with it’, he is. And thank God we have people like Chester Osborn to lighten things up a bit and have a bit of fun.

I don’t know how many wineries and cellar doors Janetta and I have visited in our lives, but it’d be close to hundreds. Most of them forgettable – you know the scene, stone floors, rustic timber bar with shiraz patina, and adequate supply of atmospheric dust, a few ancient barrels and a crusty old winemaker sloshing a glass of red while dribbling and convincing you of the uniqueness of his wine.

But Chester’s different - d’Arenberg’s different. He built a cube of glass, chrome, steel and colour and in the middle of a sheep paddock, in the middle of his vineyard. But this is no ordinary cube – it’s an art installation and if he isn’t taking the piss out of every other cellar door in the country, he’s boldly gone where no winemaker has ever gone before. This is Chester Osborn’s interpretation of a cellar door and there’s not a barrel, rusty chunk of metal or timber bench within cooee.

Inside the four-storey cube, that channels the enigmatic qualities of a giant Rubik’s puzzle, is a twisted, screaming celebration of wine wrapped in a palate of unabashed effrontery. It’s in your face, off the wall, way out there and most of all, fun. It’s interpretative, classy, expressive, complex (just like wine) and a very polished product of a very influential man.

But apart from being the vanguard of the region’s wine and tourism industry, Chester Osborne’s d’Arenberg cube is showing the world that wine can actually be fun. It’s not just for crusty, old wine wankers and wannabes. It’s for everyone.